Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage

Plot – The novel revolves around the young soldiers who have enlisted in the army to protect their fatherland from other nations. Henry Fleming is the newly recruited soldier who dreams to give his efforts for his nation. The youthful soldiers are thrilled for getting enlisted in the army. But as they land on the war scene, the thrill transforms into a horrifying nightmare for the young soldiers. Even though many soldiers die facing the bullets, Henry Fleming chooses to flee from the battle. His mind is torn apart between life and loyalty for his nation. How Henry Fleming re-discovers the courageous spirit to fight and what setbacks lead him to path of manhood is explained very realistically by author Stephen Crane.

Through this character, Stephen Crane has thrown a light on the feelings and emotions of the countless soldiers who keep waking so that civilians can sleep peacefully. “Red Badge of Courage” is a coming of age novel which is set against the backdrop of American Civil war. This is indeed a great patriotic novel that every man should read. This classic novel was made into motion picture in 1951 by MGM which featured actor Audie Murphy as Henry Fleming.

This novel became an inspiration for several motion picture makers to make movies like “Saving Private Ryan”, “The thin red line”, “Courage under fire”, “Black Hawk Down” and “Lakshya”.